


Message and Meaning

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: A Thousand Ways [20]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 20:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18763954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Danny can appreciate a real-life narrative parallel, even if it breaks his heart a little. Steve, however, is too busy worrying that Danny is talking abouthim. (Post-ep for 9x23)





	Message and Meaning

Steve leaned back against the picnic table, watching Mary talk to broken leg guy on her phone. He'd called back _again_ just to make sure they could schedule some time together before she went back to the mainland. He was still annoyed with the guy, but he could admit that it was as much for taking Mary's attention as it was for upsetting her.  
  
Next to him, Danny was finishing off the last of Steve's shrimp. He'd lingered behind after everyone else had gone off to enjoy the rest of their evenings, looking like he'd be content to stay for the foreseeable future. Even though Steve had been trying hard to pull out of Danny's life a little, preparing himself for whatever was going on with Rachel, he was more grateful than words could express.  
  
Now, Danny set down the container and nudged him companionably. "From a big brother to a fellow big brother, you've gotta learn to step back a little from your sister's dating life. If you don't, it's just going to make you crazy."  
  
He let out a breath as he watched Mary's face light up at something broken leg guy said. He'd never had much hope about his own love life, but he wanted better for her. "She needs a win right now." He shook his head, pushing the worry aside the same way he did everything else. "So, how did the case go?"  
  
Danny gave him a bland look. "You did hear that we saved the girl, right? Your little adventure with the meth lab didn't screw up your hearing?"  
  
Steve made an exasperated noise, familar enough with Danny's tones to pick up all the implications. "I told you, that was all Mary. I was just along for the ride." At Danny's disbelieving expression, he gave him a pointed look. "And seriously, Danny Williams refusing to provide color commentary? Have you been taken over by aliens while I was out of the office?"  
  
"Nerd." Warmth and amusement softened his face. "Well, probably the biggest news is that we were right about Tani and Junior. His puppy dog eyes were pretty obvious way before this, but she worries too much about him not to be feeling things right back."  
  
Steve's chest tightened, remembering the terror that always hit him whenever Danny was in danger. It always felt like the world itself threatening to cave in.

Danny, however, worried about everyone he cared about. That was just what he _did_. "Just because you worry about someone doesn't mean you're in love with him." It would be wrong to get Junior's hopes up if this was just Tani's form of friendship.  
  
Danny, who had never had to worry about imagining a friendship as something more, smirked a little. "No, this is definitely something more than friendship." Then it disappeared, something flickering across his expression that Steve couldn't read. "I am _very_ familar with the look on her face."  
  
Steve froze. Danny had been unconscious or someplace else most of the times he'd been terrified for Danny. He _couldn't_ have seen it. And even if he had, there's no way he could have known what it _meant_. He'd never said anything, not for all these years, and Danny _always_ talked. Maybe he meant Rachel.  
  
_Please let him mean Rachel._  
  
He could only imagine what expression was on his face, but Danny was too caught up in his own thoughts to notice. "It's okay, though." His expression softened again. "It would be nice if _someone_ managed to make that story end happily."  
  
Steve felt an all-too-familiar spike of fear in his chest. He didn't mean Rachel. He couldn't, since that story had every indication of ending with a happy family. But the poor sad partner, who'd been silently in love with Danny for almost the entire time he'd known him, with Danny kindly never saying anything so the friendship didn't get ruined.... He wanted to believe it was someone else in Danny's past, _anyone_ else, but the hard, sick twist in the base of his stomach made that impossible.  
  
Steve swallowed, feeling like the ground was crumbling under his feet. "I'm sorry." His voice was rough. "You know I'd never get in the way of you and Rachel, right?"  
  
Danny's expression tightened. "I said no to the damn cat because it's seen as an act of aggression to adopt an animal your ex is allergic to, and I see more of the kids when Rachel and I are friends rather than mortal enemies."  
  
Steve looked down at his hands. He'd like comforting lies more if they ever did anything to cushion the fall. "You don't have to lie to protect my feelings. I'm a grown man. I can take it."  
  
Danny's brow lowered. "I know you can take pretty much anything, Mr. Big, Tough SuperSEAL, but that doesn't mean---" He stopped, all the tension in him replaced by complete confusion. "Wait. What does Rachel have to do with _your_ feelings?"  
  
Steve just stared at him, for the moment as lost as Danny seemed to be. He _had_ to know how much the thought of them getting back together hurt Steve, right? He'd never say a word about it, because Danny's happiness was more important than anything else, but surely if he knew about Steve's pining he wouldn't make him _explain_ \---  
  
He didn't know.  
  
A wash of pure terror slammed into Steve. Danny _hadn't_ been talking about him, but that didn't matter because he'd just outed himself. And he was even worse off now, because he had no assurance that Danny _would_ tolerate Steve spilling his feelings all over him.  
  
He'd always known he was going to lose this, somehow. He just hadn't known it would be his fault.  
  
This time, Danny was watching Steve's face like it held the secrets of the universe. "In fact, she doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking---" His expression shifted like a thought had occurred to him, making him tilt his head in acknowledgement. "Okay, technically you _could_ connect her, but only if I turned into even more of a masochist than I already am. Thankfully, you and the team taught me enough self respect over the last 7 or so years that it's never going to happen. Besides, _none_ of that should put that look on your---"  
  
Danny jerked to a halt like the rest of the words had been stolen out of his throat. His eyes catapulted through different emotions like a missile, shock to disbelief to denial straight through to something Steve couldn't read. Then it was back to disbelief, followed by something that looked like self-hatred, and whatever courage Steve had left failed him completely. Wherever it landed, Steve knew it would kill him.  
  
"I have to go." He pushed himself to his feet, his only goal to be as far away from here as possible. "Have Mary call and tell me when she's done, and I'll---"  
  
He was cut off when Danny's hand closed around his wrist and yanked him back to the picnic table. "Damn it, get back here."  
  
Steve let himself be pulled, but he couldn't make himself look at Danny. "I meant what I said. How I feel doesn't matter, so you should tell yourself whatever you---"  
  
Danny caught ahold of his jaw with his free hand, forcibly turning Steve's head to look at him. It was Danny's eyes that stopped Steve's voice this time, shining with so much naked love and longing that it stole the breath out of Steve's lungs. "I was talking about _me_ , you idiot," he rasped, grip gentling as he slid his hand up to cradle Steve's face. "I recognized it from the _inside_ , because it's on my face every single damn time I've been forced to watch the love of my life do something heroically stupid."  
  
Steve's heart was thundering in his ears, the world spinning around him like someone had thrown him on a zero g simulator. His brain was frozen, trying desperately to make sense of the words he knew Danny couldn't actually be saying. It wasn't _possible_.  
  
But if he was dreaming, there was no way in hell he was going to be the one to make himself wake up. He crossed the last bit of distance between them and kissed Danny with everything he had, and Danny drank it in and gave him back a thousand times more. The entire world became Danny, all of Steve's senses screaming to absorb and memorize every nuance of the man who meant more to him than anything in the world.  
  
When they broke apart, Steve's eyes were wet and his heart wanted to shoot out of his chest like a rocket. He leaned his forehead against Danny's, awed and humbled in the same breath.  
  
Before he could even begin to put any of it into words, however, the sound of someone slow-clapping in the distance. They both lifted their heads to see Mary grinning at them, phone long since put away and an "aww aren't they adorable" expression on her face. "Way to prove that whole 'don't give up hope' thing to me, big bro." She clapped her hands together. "But I'm guessing it would be in _both_ of our best interests for me to take you up on that offer of the hotel room?"  
  
"If he doesn't," Danny cut in, " _I_ will buy you one."  
  
Steve, happier than he could ever remember being, just let himself laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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